PORT GENTIL, Gabon, Alain Traore hammered home a 89th-minute free-kick to ensure third place for Burkina Faso at the African Nations Cup as they beat Ghana 1-0 on Saturday to gain some consolation for a bitter semifinal defeat.
Burkina, denied a place in Sunday’s final after losing on penalties to Egypt on Wednesday, claimed the victory as the Turkish-based striker struck a fierce shot from well outside the area.
Ghana were playing in the bronze-medal match for the third time in the last four editions but have lost each one.
They could have gone ahead inside the first 30 seconds but Jordan Ayew missed a good chance, as did Edward Agyemang Badu soon afterwards. Teenager Bernard Tekpetey had the best first-half chance after a goalmouth scramble but his effort struck the crossbar.
The young Schalke prodigy also came close with a header midway through the second half but Ghana again paid a price for their inability to finish.
